Game device.



B. ,9. WARD.

GAME DEVICE. .AJPIJIGATIOII` I LED DEO. 20, 1910.

Patented J ulyl 11, 1911.

coLL'MBIA PLANOGRAPH C0., WASHINuTaN, D. c.

BERTRAND Gr. WARD, OIE' JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

GAME DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 11, 1911.

Application led December 20, 1910. Serial No. 598,389.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERTRAND G. WARD, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game Devices, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to game apparatus or devices, and the object thereof is to provide an improved device of this class which is designed to amuse and entertain both old and young; and with this and other objects in view, the invention consists in a device of the class specified constructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which;-

Figure l is a plan view of my improved game device or apparatus; Fig. 2 a side view thereof on a reduced scale and showing the said device or apparatus in the form ofa board placed upon a table or support with one end raised higher than the other; Fig. 3 a cross section on the line 3-3 of Fig. l; Fig. 4 a partial cross section similarrto Fig. 3 and on an enlarged scale and showing only a detail of the construction; Fig. 5 a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing a partthereof in a different position; and, Fig. 6 a view looking in the direction of the arrow a" in Fig. 4.

In the practice of my invention, I provide a table or board a having a rim a2 and preferably covered with a hard finished cloth or other fibrous material as shown at a. For the purpose of this description the end at of the board a will be called the front end, and the end a5 the rea-r end and, in practice, I form at one side of the front end a4 of said table or board a channel-way Z), said channel-way being formed by the adjacent side rim a2 of the table or board, and a partialy partition b2 extending longitudinally of the table or board and parallel with the adjacent side rim a2, and the end of'said channel-way adjacent to the end at of the table or board is provided with a cover of, and placed therein is a pist-on plunger b4 having a rod b5 which passes through the rim a2 ofV the table or board at the end a4 thereof as shown at be, and is provided with a knob or handle o7 by which said rod and piston plunger may be operated, and mounted on the rod b5 is a spring bs which normally holds the piston plunger and rod in the position shown in Fig. l.

Mounted on the table or board and arranged transversely thereof in the manner shown in Fig. l, are a plurality of upright frames or supports o which are preferably yoke-shaped in form, and also substantially in the form of staples driven into said board, and comprising side members c2 and transverse top members c3, and mounted in each of said frames is a rotatable counter ai, said counters d being preferably in the form of disks, plates or boards, and being provided at their opposite sides or ends with trunnions d2 which pass loosely through rings or eyes c4 in the side members o2 of the frames or supports o. The rings or eyes o* are of greater diameter than the trunnions Z2 and the counters d are therefore capable of slight vertical movement, and said counters are provided on one side edge thereof, the bottom side edge when said counters are in their normal positions, in which positions they are held by gravity with a hook member' cl3, and the hook members Z3 of the counters, when saidcounters are turned in the playing of the game, as hereinafter described, are adapted to engage the top members c3 of the frames or supports c as shown in Fig. 5. I also provide one or more balls e composed of any preferred material, and the table or board a is preferably provided at the rear end thereof with curved buffers f which are designed to defiect the ball or balls in the playing of the game as hereinafter described, and the method of playing said game will be readily understood from the foregoing description when `taken in connection with the acco1n panying drawing rand the following statement thereof.

In practice, a player places a ball e in the channelway Z) and draws backwardly the plunger or piston o* by means of the handle o7, and on releasing the said handle the ball e will be projected along the dotted line indicated by the arrow y, and said ball will strike one of the buffers f and will be deflected or turned back along thedotted line indicatedv b21/the arrow y2, or alongV the dotted linej'i ndicated by the arrow g3 according to the force eXerted by the spring b", and as the said ball rolls back or down to the front end of the board or table, it will strike one or more of the counters d, and said counters will be turned into the position shown in Fig. 5, the hooks Z3 of said counters engaging the top members c3 of the frames or supports c and holding said counters in said position until they are again turned down by hand into the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The counters ci are each provided with a number as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, the number employed in said figures being six, and these numbers are placed on the backs of said counters and show in front only when said counters are turned into the position shown in Fig. 5.

As shown in Fig. l there are two dotted lines indicating the direction of the ball c in rolling forward or downward from the rear end of the table or board to the front end thereof, and these dotted lines each pass through a number of the frames or supports c and, of course, operate a number of the counters d, but it will be understood that the ball c may take any course, or dilferent courses, and may pass through one or more of said frames or supports and operate one or more of said counters. The direction of the forward or downward movement of said ball depends largely on the force given to it by the plunger or piston b4, and this force may be largely controlled by the manipulation of the rod b5 by means of the handle 57. The counters CZ may each be provided with a different number, or a number of said counters may be provided with the same number, and a player counts the sum of these numbers on the counters operated by the ball in its passage from the rear to the front end of the table as herein described.

It will be understood that any number of players may engage in the game and any number of the balls e may be employed, and in practice, a table of any desired dimensions may he used, one end thereof being supported higher than the other, or the device or apparatus may consist of a board of any desired dimensions supported on a table or other support as shown in Fig. 2.

In t-he accompanying drawing the counter frames or supports c are placed in transverse rows across the table or board, the numbers of said counter frames or supports in said transverse rows differing as shown, but it will be understood that these counter frames or supports may be placed on the table or board in any desired position, all thatis necessary in this connection being that said counter frames or supports be each arranged transversely of the table or board. The curved buffers f at the rear end of the table or board is not an essential feature, but I prefer to employ them for the reason specified.

I-Iaving fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a game device or apparatus, a table or board provided with a plurality of yokeshaped wickets, and rotatable counters pivoted in the sides of said wickets, said counters being provided on one side thereof with numbers and being vertically movable and normally held by gravity in a vertical plane and the bottom edge thereof being provided with hook members adapted to engage the tops of said wickets.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence o-f the subscribing witnesses this 16th day of December, 1910.

BERTRAND G. IVARD.

Vit-nesses C. E. MULREANY, E. G. BROMLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

